Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-5-208 (2026)

• (a) The requirements of this section apply to all ballots.

• (b) Immediately following the title of each office shall be printed the words "Vote for one (1)," "Vote for two (2)," according to the number to be elected.

• (c)
  • (1) The order of the titles of the offices to be filled or for which nominees are to be chosen shall be substantially as follows:
    • (A) Presidential and vice presidential electors;
    • (B) Governor;
    • (C) United States senate;
    • (D) United States house of representatives;
    • (E) Tennessee senate;
    • (F) Tennessee house of representatives;
    • (G) Supreme court judge;
    • (H) Court of appeals judge;
    • (I) Court of criminal appeals judge;
    • (J) Circuit court judge;
    • (K) Chancellor;
    • (L) Criminal court judge;
    • (M) District attorney general;
    • (N) Public defender;
    • (O) County mayors, including popularly elected mayors of metropolitan county governments;
    • (P) County legislative offices, including members of the county legislative bodies;
    • (Q) Assessor of property;
    • (R) County trustee;
    • (S) General sessions judge;
    • (T) Juvenile court judge;
    • (U) Sheriff;
    • (V) Clerks of courts;
    • (W) County clerk;
    • (X) Register;
    • (Y) Elective county department offices, including road superintendents or commissioners, school boards and purchasing agents;
    • (Z) Municipal executive offices;
    • (AA) Municipal legislative offices;
    • (BB) Municipal judicial offices; and
    • (CC) Offices which do not fall into any classification listed in this subdivision (c)(1).
  • (2) If several offices to be filled are within a single classification, they shall be arranged in alphabetical order.
  • (3) If any judicial offices listed in subdivision (c)(1) are to be placed on the ballot as a yes/no retention question, the question shall be placed at the end of the ballot.

• (d)
  • (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or this title, on general election ballots, the name of each political party having nominees on the ballot shall be listed in the following order: majority party, minority party, and recognized minor party, if any. The names of the political party candidates shall be alphabetically listed underneath the appropriate column for the candidate's party. A column for independent candidates shall follow the recognized minor party, or if there is not a recognized minor party on the ballot, shall follow the minority party, with the listing of the candidates' names alphabetically underneath.
  • (2) On nonpartisan general election ballots and on the political party's primary ballot, the names of all candidates for the same office shall be arranged alphabetically according to the initials of their surnames, beginning with the first initial.

• (e) No number may be prefixed before or affixed after the names of candidates for any office so as to designate by number the order in which candidates' names are on the ballot for any office. The limitation set out in this subsection (e) does not prohibit the printing of numerals on the face of punch cards or ballots used with the microvote electronic voting system.

• (f)
  • (1) Whenever a question is submitted to the vote of the people, it shall be placed at the end of the ballot, followed by the words "Yes" and "No", so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. If a retention judicial question is on the ballot as provided for in subdivision (c)(3), this question shall be placed after the retention judicial question; provided, that whenever the question of a state constitutional amendment is submitted to the vote of the people pursuant to article XI, § 3, paragraph 1 of the Tennessee Constitution, it shall be printed upon the ballot directly after the list of candidates for governor followed by the words "Yes" and "No", so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a "yes" vote would indicate support for the measure and a "no" vote would indicate opposition.
  • (2)
    • (A) If the full statement of a question is more than three hundred (300) words in length, the question shall be preceded by a brief summary of the proposal written in a clear and coherent manner using words with common everyday meanings. Such summary shall not exceed two hundred (200) words in length. The summary shall be written by the attorney general and reporter for questions submitted to the voters of the entire state or of more than one (1) county or by the county attorney of the county in which the question is to be voted upon for questions to be submitted to the voters of one (1) county or any part of a county. The summary for questions submitted to the voters of a municipality shall be written by the city attorney of the municipality in which the question is to be voted upon.
    • (B) Notwithstanding subdivision (f)(2)(A), if the question is a state constitutional amendment, the question shall be preceded by a brief summary of the proposal written in a clear and coherent manner using words with common everyday meanings. Such summary shall not exceed two hundred (200) words in length. The summary shall be written by the attorney general and reporter.

• (g) The ballot for each political party's presidential preference primary shall be headed "Candidates of the Party for President of the United States." Beneath the heading shall be "I declare my preference for candidate for the office of President of the United States to be:" followed by the names of the candidates.

• (h) The names of presidential candidates shall be arranged according to political parties, and followed by the words, (giving the name) for president and (giving the name) for vice president. Names of electors need not appear on the ballot.

• (i) When there are so many candidates for an office that their names will not all fit either horizontally or vertically on the ballot with the name of the office, the names shall be listed in alphabetical rotation from left to right in each necessary row in the following manner:

• (j) [Deleted by 2023 amendment.]

• (k) At the time of qualification for judge of the supreme court, the candidate shall state on the qualifying petition the grand division in which the candidate resides and the particular seat on the supreme court for which the candidate seeks election. The county election commission shall cause the names of the candidates to be arranged on the ballot so as to denote the grand division for which they are seeking to be elected or whether they are candidates from the state at large by prefixing to the names of the candidates the words "eastern," "western" or "middle" division or "the state at large."

• (l) On ballots in a referendum election held by a local government, any question submitted to the vote of the people shall be printed followed by the words "Yes" and "No", so that the voter can vote a preference by making a cross mark (X) opposite the proper word. Any question submitted to the people shall be worded in such a manner that a "yes" vote would indicate support for the measure and a "no" vote would indicate opposition.

Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 346, s 2, eff. 5/5/2023.

Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 579, s 1, eff. 3/10/2016.

Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 231, s 6, eff. 7/1/2013.

Acts 1972, ch. 740, § 1; 1974, ch. 708, § 1; 1975, ch. 353, § 4; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 22, 36; Acts 1978, ch. 934, § 29; T.C.A., §§ 2-308, 2-514; Acts 1981, ch. 110, § 1; 1981, ch. 246, § 1; 1981, ch. 300, § 1; 1983, ch. 20, § 1; 1988, ch. 672, § 3; 1990, ch. 628, § 5; 1995, ch. 305, § 56; 1996, ch. 574, § 1; 1997 , ch. 331, § 2; 1997 , ch. 558, § 5; 2000, ch. 756, §§ 9, 10, 11; 2000, ch. 883, § 2; 2003 , ch. 90, § 2; 2003 , ch. 183, § 1; 2007 , ch. 125, § 9; 2011 , ch. 257, § 3.